Murghi roti is a South Indian style dish made with cooked rice, cooked chicken and lots of spices. This another of my variations on this dish but using cooked strips of beef. It is not the least bit authentic as the cow is sacred and forbidden as food in the Hindu religion of India. I had about 250 g of ready cooked Sous vide beef prime topside joint so I thought I should try using it in this recipe. It was delicious as always (Murghi roti is one of my all time favourite recipes), but I have to say I prefer the chicken version over beef.

A great recipe for using up leftovers. Please be very careful if storing cooked rice. Refrigerate the moment it has cooled and use within 1 day.

Method

Quickly wash and drain the rice but don't rinse it as you normally would, this dish is best with rice of a starchy consistency.

Cook in boiling water for 7 to 11 minutes.

Rinse the cooked rice in cold water until it is cold. Drain well.

Add the rice to a food processor with a metal blade and blend to a thick creamy purée - adding a little milk if it needs thinning. Remember, the inside is not going to change much whilst being cooked and will remain at roughly the same consistency as it was when first mixed.

I heeded my own advice and tasted the coconut before preparing it. It was totally rancid, thank you Morrisons. Luckily I had both coconut flakes and desiccated coconut. For two people, I used two big handfuls of flakes and 4 tablespoons of desiccated coconut soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes then drained in a sieve. It worked fine and saved the day!

A better way of cooking this

After making variants of this for many years, I've discovered the best method of cooking is to spread the ingredients out on a lightly greased baking tray and bake at 220° C (425° F - gas 7) for 35 minutes, stirring up the contents every 10 minutes. It might be an idea with a meat other than crayfish, to add the meat (or prawns) for the last 10 minutes so they don't dry out.

Peeling ginger

There is no need to peel ginger. As a result of attending a Thai cookery demo, we have learnt that peeling ginger is unnecessary unless for aesthetic purposes as the skin is high in fibre and full of flavour. However, do remove any bits that have become tough or woody.